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Navigating the workplace as a neurodivergent employee

Posted on • Disabilities and health conditions

Hi, I’m Hayley. I’m neurodivergent and I work as an Employer Engagement Co-Ordinator in the Employer Engagement Team within Careers and Employability Services at the OU. I have personally found the following three OU resources useful in helping me to identify my abilities, developing practical strategies, and navigating a working environment more effectively as someone who is neurodivergent:

1. Clue yourself up on the Equality Act

I found Equality and diversity in the workplace to be a helpful resource, which focuses on The Equality Act. This is a piece of legislation which covers how someone with neurodiversity is protected by law, and how their employer must adhere to this. Knowing this legislation has helped me to advocate for myself in the workplace whenever I’ve needed to. It’s essential information for any neurodivergent person!

2. Declare your neurodivergence to your employer

Discussing your neurodivergence with an employer gave me some super handy tips for this. Although I was under no legal obligation to tell my employer I was neurodivergent, once I had shared this info my employer then had a legal obligation to provide reasonable adjustments. No two neurodivergent people are the same, even if they share the same difference, so I realised it was important to share how my neurodivergence affected me individually and what my individual needs were.

3. Increase your knowledge of neurodiversity to improve your working life

The OU’s brand new OpenLearn Neurodiversity Hub really opened my eyes to my own neurodiversity and how I could apply methods and systems to help me in the workplace. It has plenty of free resources available to learn about neurodiversity, and it covers a wide range of topics, including myth-busting, how to make environments more neuroinclusive, helpful tips for neurodiverse workers and how to deal with feedback if you are neurodivergent. You can even share it with others, as it is freely available to the public and not just OU staff and students.

A picture of Hayley.Hayley Weatherilt is an Employment Engagement Coordinator in the OU’s Careers and Employability Services. She supports career-related activity both within the service and across the University, helping students to achieve their ambitions. Explore the rest of our blog for more articles from your careers team.